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Funding
Applying for funding
You can apply for funding from Research Councils, your University, industrial partners and numerous other organisations which support public engagement with science and engineering.
Top tips
- Start early
- Be clear about the benefits funding will bring (to funder and funder's audience)
- If an organisation is not able to contribute financially to your exhibit, they may be able to lend other resources or expertise
- Prepare a budget breakdown for your exhibit delivery
- Build longevity/re-use into your funding proposal
- Make a point of our thorough evaluation process
Sponsorship guidelines
The Royal Society is very happy for sponsors to have appropriate branding on the stand they are contributing towards, however, please note that product placement on exhibition stands is not acceptable.
Help from the Royal Society
Exhibitor Support Fund
The Royal Society has a small fund to assist exhibitors who are unable to obtain institutional or other support for exceptional costs. Those wishing to apply to this fund should email the below information to exhibition@royalsociety.org by Friday 14 February. We cannot guarantee to accommodate all requests if there are large numbers of applications.
- A breakdown of the amount requested from the Royal Society and what this will be used for
- A breakdown of the full costs of exhibiting (including travel and accommodation)
- A breakdown of all funding obtained or requests outstanding
- A list of other possible funding bodies not yet approached
Budget breakdown
Exhibitors can spend anything between 5k to over 25k on their exhibits, but spending more doesn't necessarily mean you will have a better exhibit. Below is a summary from previous exhibitors regarding their costs. Please be aware this is not what we expect you to spend, rather a guide for the breakdown of certain costs.
Total spend (2019)
57% spent £25k or above
14% spent £20k - £25k
5% spent £15k - £20k
10% spend £10k - £15k
14% spend under £10k
Rough budget breakdown (%)
40% Exhibit Design and Build
25% Displays and interactives
25% Accommodation, travel and subsistence
10% Freebies, T-shirts, insurance
Example costs from previous exhibitors
Example 1
| Exhibit stand |
£4.8k |
| Equipment for demonstration |
£3.5k |
| iPad app |
£400 |
| Video (University) |
£500 |
| Video (external) |
£3.3k |
| Travel |
£2k |
| Accommodation |
£800 |
| Sweets for handing out |
£500 |
| Stickers for handing out |
£400 |
| T-shirts |
£500 |
| Plasma rockets sign |
£300 |
| Static sticks |
£80 |
| Total | £17,080 |
Example 2
| Exhibit stand |
£7.5k |
| Interactives |
£1k |
| Accommodation |
£400 |
| Give aways, leaflets, supporting information |
£4k |
| T-shirts |
£600 |
| Videos |
£2k |
| Miscellaneous |
£3.5k |
| Total |
£25,100 |